Just Too Late
by nathansprincess
Summary: “People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end” He quoted her and felt her laugh slightly,“This is the end” She commented. Brucas Oneshot.


Brooke entered the decorated church and let out a shaky breathe. Her plane from L.A had been delayed and she had only arrived in Tree Hill three hours previously. A part of her had prayed that the delay would give her the perfect excuse to call Peyton and send her apologies for not being able to make it, but her loyalty to the curly blonde had stopped her.

"Brooke?" Haley's voice asked from behind her and she turned to be greeted by her favourite tutor-mom

"Im so glad you came" Haley whispered as she hugged her tightly and pulled away slightly to send her a sympathetic smile

"I had to" Brooke told her through her fake smile

"Its okay Brooke, I understand how hard this must be for you"

"It's been six years Haley, im over it" She lied, giving the woman in front of her another dazzling Brooke Davis smile, "Where's my favourite basketball star?" She smirked, hoping to change the subject.

"He's gone to check on Lucas, you know…make sure he doesn't bow out in front of a church full of people" Haley laughed slightly

"And my favourite god-son?" Brooke asked with a real smile this time, no matter how hard today was or how hard the rest of her life was going to be, James Lucas Scott would always be able to lighten up her day

"With his dad…he was kind of nervous at being ring bearer" Haley continued

"My little man will be great" The brunette declared proudly, making Haley laugh at the overwhelming confidence Brooke had always contained ever since she had been a teenager.

"You seen Peyton?"

"No, I called and managed to talk to Karen to tell her I was going to make it in time"

"Why don't you go and see Lucas?" Haley suggested innocently

"Um…yeah, Luke…he kind of doesn't know im here" Brooke replied hesitantly, staring at her feet

"Why?" the girl replied in confusion

"Because Peyton didn't know I was definitely going to make it till about ten hours ago…and im guessing as it was the night before the wedding she hasn't had a chance to update him" She continued wearily, "Im scared to see him Hales,'

"Brooke…like you said, it's been six years, you're older and more mature now, all that stuff before was teenage angst" Haley laughed encouragingly

"I haven't seen him for two years" Brooke whispered more to herself than for Haley's ears

"Then it will give you lots to catch up on" Haley smiled again, this time more sadly

"Okay…I suppose I can go and give him my congratulations" The clothes over bros. founder smiled, finding courage in her to face one of her demons.

"Ill save you a seat" Haley smiled and waved as her friend began to walk off in the direction of the church room where most groom's got over last minute nerves.

She sighed as she watched the petite brunette strut confidently towards the door and opened it, entering cautiously. When the door was closed she crossed her arms over her chest and thought about the confident air Brooke took wherever she went, although to anyone who knew Brooke for the real, insecure and lonely girl she was, they would know that when it came to dealing with Lucas Scott, she was never confident.

* * *

"Knock Knock" Brooke cheered as she entered the little room, the two men and young child occupying it making it seem even smaller.

Her nerves began to surface and she pushed them away bravely, smiling joyously as James threw himself at her.

"Aunt Brooke!" He giggled childlike as she kissed his whole face

"How is my favourite tutor-son?" Brooke asked him excitedly

"Happy now you are here" The six year old smiled, revealing a missing tooth

"Hi Brooke, glad you came" Nathan approached her with a smirk and hugged her, pulling back and looking her up and down, "L.A agrees with you, you look very….celebrity" He chuckled.

"A hyper child agrees with you too…you look very…..warn" She giggled as he hit her playfully and then looked down at his son, taking him by the shoulders, "Come on little guy, lets go see your mom" He told him, guiding him out of the room with a "See you later" to Brooke and a "Ill be back" to Lucas.

She watched them leave and turned to face the person who she had knocked on the door for.

"Hi Broody" She said wearily, noticing the husky and confused expression he wore.

"Brooke?" He said, almost as if he had seen a ghost

"Here in the flesh" She attempted humour, but saw his face change into a harsh expression of anger

"What are you doing here?" He asked her steadily

"Well, last time I checked, there was a wedding" She replied sarcastically, hating the awkwardness between them.

"I knew Peyton had invited you but…I never knew you had replied" He explained

"It was kind of a last minute decision" She told him, hating the way he had said Peyton had invited her, making it clear that he had not had a part in the invite. "Anyway, I just came to say congratulations" She continued hurriedly and aimed for the door.

He saw her motion to leave and ran ahead, blocking the door

"You cannot just walk in here after two years and wish me congratulations then leave in two seconds" He shouted angrily

"What do you want me to say Luke?!" She asked him harshly

"I want you to give me the real reason why you came here today" He demanded

"To say goodbye!" She lost control and shouted

They stood silent after her outburst and stared at each other

"Goodbye?" He asked confused

"Luke…just let me go-," She begged, trying to get passed to reach the door

"What do you mean goodbye?" He asked loudly, staring at her fiercely

"I…im not coming back after today Luke…im not coming back to Tree Hill" She whispered, closing her eyes to stop him from seeing the sadness in them.

"Why? You have people who care about you here…" He asked her sadly

"Haley and Nathan will come visit me…Ive made a life for myself in L.A, it's my future…and Tree Hill," She stopped, looking around the room sadly, "Tree Hill is my past" She finished

"I understand" He said nodding and looked away from her

"So…congratulations" She changed the subject tactfully as she had done with Haley, "You and P. Sawyer were always destined to be" She added, wiping a stray tear away from her cheek.

"Ive missed you Brooke" He suddenly announced, approaching her and looking down at her through his glazed eyes.

"I miss you too" She assured him

He stroked her cheek with his palm and she leaned into it, closing her eyes and savouring his touch. A touch she had failed to receive in six years.

"Pretty girl" He murmured and pulled her into a soft but strong hug

"I wish it had been me you had saved" She mumbled into his suit clad chest

"It was always you" He replied, causing her to pull away and look up into his eyes

"What do you mean?" She questioned

"It was you who I had seen standing next to me when all my dreams came true, but when I realised I wasn't the one you wanted next to you….I made myself happy with Peyton"

She stood back and looked at him, open mouthed and teary eyed.

"You thought I didn't want you?" She asked him

He nodded and diverted his eyes away from her glare

"How dare you say that? I always wanted you….it was always you….and even though I wish it wasn't, it still is you!" She snapped, her words forcing him to look at her

"Then why didn't you fight for us?!" He asked her harshly

She was taken aback by his words and flinched at the bitterness in his voice

"What was there to fight for Luke?, You kissed Peyton and moved on….you killed my trust in you….do you think it was easy for me?, watching you kiss her and hold her, do things with her that we used to do….just the simple notion of seeing you smile at her managed to tare me up"

He looked at the young woman in front of him, she was twenty four years old, but the way her tears slid down her cheek and the way her lip quivered when she shouted made her look as vulnerable as she had been when he had first fell in love with her, when she had been nothing more than a seventeen year old girl carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, hiding it behind her drunken nights and insignificant one night stands. He had loved her then and would always love the impact she had made on his life. She had opened up his heart and made him believe in soul mates. The fact they were different had made it more magical for him and had made the theory 'Opposites attract' unquestionable. He hadn't seen her in two years, and she had made idle banter for the fifteen minutes they were in each others presence, all he had wanted to do was shake her fragile body into loving him, but he knew you couldn't force someone to love you, want you, trust you and even worse…miss you.

"Im the guy for you Brooke Davis" He sighed, a fond smile on his face as he relived the memory of that night on the beach.

"You were….but your Peyton's now" She corrected him

"What do we do?" He asked, hope shining through his eyes.

"You get ready and walk down the aisle" She stated simply, tears loosely flowing

"You don't want me?" He asked almost childlike, hurt and vulnerability evident in his solemn expression.

"I'll always want you" She smiled sadly, making his eye's light up, "But Peyton needs you" She added, making the light turn into a dark shadow.

He knew her loyalty to her friend, and his own loyalty forced him to turn away from her and rub his jaw tiredly.

"I love you Lucas….I always will" She sobbed, "Don't say anything," She begged, "Im going to go out there and im going to smile and clap and hug Peyton celebratory, and im going to finally let you go"

He turned to face her again and she saw the hint of tears in his eyes.

"But I need you to know, that…in years to come….ill still be loving you, and I will never forget you…and you deserve all the happiness in the world" She smiled through her blurry eyes.

"I love you Pretty girl" He told her, kissing her forehead and pulling her into another hug

"I guess we were just too late" She sighed

"People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end" He quoted her and felt her laugh slightly

"This is the end" She commented, making them both go silent and just stand there in the tiny room, a tiny room filled with two overwhelming hearts, two hearts that were slowly breaking and letting go of the love they had held on to for six years.

A knock on the door forced them to pull away, and she wiped her eyes quickly.

"Hey guys, sorry, but the priest says its time" Nathan announced, smiling sadly at the lost couple in front of him.

"Okay" Lucas nodded and straightened his tie, taking a deep breathe he looked at the girl in front of him.

"Ill be seeing you" She smiled sadly and kissed his cheek, lingering for longer than she should have

"Goodbye Pretty girl" He sighed and turning to Nathan nodded in sign of readiness.

"Lets get the show on the road" Nathan declared, clapping his hands and walking ahead, Lucas followed him and before walking completely out of the room turned to take her in one last time. She was standing in the middle of the room, her eyes closed and her cheeks tear stained. He forced himself not to let his tears flow, and with an intake of breathe turned away and walked out of the door.

* * *

"Hey, how did it go?" Haley asked as Brooke slid next to her onto the pew

Brooke looked down, not answering.

"Im sorry sweetie" Haley comforted her

"It was just time to you know…time to let go" The broken brunette stated huskily and looked up to find him staring at her from his place at the top of the aisle beside the priest. She savoured his gaze, the need and want that it showed…the need and want he had for her. That gaze would be the last gaze she would savour from Lucas Scott, because before she knew it the church organ has been started up and everyone around her was standing, their looks In the direction of the back of the church. She saw him force his eyes away from hers to follow everyone else's and giving a whisper of "Goodbye Broody", she too turned to face the blushing bride who was walking towards a future that once upon a time, Brooke had dreamed for herself.

The End.

* * *

Please Review. x 


End file.
